Current Release: April 28th, 2009 | Vol. XXX Iss. 10

Staff Editorial: No reglaity is no reality

In six months the class of 2006 will be receiving diplomas and starting a new phase of life. Four years have flown by, and seniors are excited about graduation day.

However, there is one noticeable aspect of graduation that will be missing that day: the seniors’ wearing of regalia. Regalia are defined as “the distinguished symbols of rank, office, order, or society.” Virginia Wesleyan College’s Commencement Committee policy states, “In accordance with the national code on academic regalia, no personal adornments of any kind are to be worn on the cap, gown, or hood. This includes badges, corsages, and lettering of any kind.”

Does anyone else see a paradox in this policy?

This means that the seniors who have participated in various clubs and organizations or have spent hours studying to be a member of an honor society will not be allowed to wear tassels, pins, sashes or other “adornments” on their graduation day.

For many seniors, graduation day may be one of the most memorable days of their lives. What is the reasoning behind this regulation? The college has held the tradition that commencement is a very serious event and that the wearing of regalia might take away the aesthetic value of the ceremony.

Rumor suggests that the college does not want to make some students feel inferior if they have decided not to participate in any organizations.

Though the college has taken the feelings of those who might not have excelled in studies or organizations into consideration, it seems that the feelings of the students who have contributed to various student organizations have been ignored.

If there were no students willing to give their time or efforts to extracurricular endeavors on campus, what would be left to show for the college?

No Honor Societies. No Academic Associations. No International Clubs. No Cultural Arts Societies. No Special Interest Groups. No Fraternities or Sororities. No Community Service Organizations. No Religious Life Organizations. No Campus Communications and Media. No Campus Life Organizations.

The college boasts that these organizations are “ways to stimulate both your mind and your adrenaline.” But, in the end, seniors walk across the stage in front of friends and family celebrating only a completion of classes.

If VWC is truly an institution of “possibilities, not obstacles,” then let the possibility of the graduation of the of 2006 wearing full regalia, “adornments” and all, on graduation day become a reality.